Mason bees - cleaning / removal from nest - can any one help?

[Psy]

Hello all!

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this post and / or this isn't the right forum for solitary bees, just I could do with some practical advise please. Hope someone can help?

I have about 10 solitary bees boxes in my garden which are very well populated by mason and leafcutter bees and have been for several years.

About two thirds of the bee boxes are either those with holes drilled into wood or the bamboo cane type - like you see at garden centres. The other third are made up of wooden layers that can be separated / cleaned. Irrespective, I've never "managed" them in any way (other than providing homes) and have left mother nature to do her thing. It seems my lack of knowledge about these brilliant little insects has bought them some misery however.

In previous years I'd noticed what looked like a few fruit flies buzzing around the nest entrances and didn't pay them much attention - this year there are dozens upon dozens of the little blighters!

After some research, I now know they are Houdini flies, a kleptoparasite of mason bees, and there A LOT of them, despite me now squishing them at every opportunity! In addition, I've noticed some bees covered in pollen mites which also look very poorly. Seems my lack of maintenance / hygiene is not helping the bees

I want to put things right so I've invested in several new nests with the cardboard tubes (inner & outer) with the aim to recover the pupated bees from the inner tubes, clean them up, ditch any pests, over winter the pupae in the fridge and release in spring.

I have two questions after my preamble!

1) When cleaning the pupae after removing from the inner tube, one website recommended washing in 5% bleach solution to remove any stray pollen mites. Is that the best approach? Is there an alternative? How do you make up 5% bleach solution?

2) Next year I will "retire" the nest boxes that can't be cleaned out to help put an end to the pest cycle - shame given the investment but it's clearly the right thing to do offtopic: Knowing what I know now, I'm surprised those types of nests are so widely available, it seems ironic that people would buy them to help the bees but in so doing are perpetuating the pest of the bees too). Anyhow, I obviously want to keep any bees that have nested in those boxes this year. Can anyone suggest a technique I can use next spring to let the bees emerge, but prevent them from re-using these nests and effectively empty them? Would putting them into a separate box, perhaps somewhere shady, with a hole in it be sufficient?

Thanks for any help - I know mason bees are pretty "low tech" compared to honey bee keeping, but I'm keen to do my bit for the bees and do it properly

Much appreciated!

Simon

 

[Levitt53]

What sort of garden do you have? Ours is pretty large with a wooded area in it and we have 100s of solitary bees nesting in the ground amongst the wild flowers. We also have them where I work in a small library. They have 100s of holes around the building where they nest and have done for years. I'm probably not helping much but in my experience they will nest in different places quite happily if they want without the little bee boxes. I suspect the bee boxes are fairly cosmetic and meant for small gardens or for children to feel like they are keeping them and not for long term use.

 

[Psy]

Thanks for your reply Levitt53.

I have a medium-sized typical suburban garden. You're probably right, the bee boxes they sell in garden centre's are probably mostly cosmetic and not designed for long term use.

I was given one for Christmas 3 or 4 years back and put it up just for the sake of it. I'm a keen gardener and have never seen mason bees nesting in my garden, in holes in the ground or otherwise, and neither have my neighbours. There must be a low level population though as I was surprised to find the bee box was partially occupied the first year I put it up (obviously picked a good spot!). The following year it was full (so I bought two more) and the rest is history - I now have about 10 boxes spread throughout the garden, all of which are pretty much full to the brim with bees.

But this population explosion (and my poor choice of box type) seems to be contributing to the pest problem I'm seeing. Having done some re-search it seems likely the population will rapidly decline now that the two major pests of solitary bees are present in some number, unless I do something about it.

Which is why I'm switching to the type of mason nest set up used by commercial fruit tree growers, with replaceable double skinned cardboard nesting tubes, then storing the pupated bees over winter for early release the following year. See masonbees.co.uk for more if you're interested.

Why go to all this trouble? Well, not only are solitary bees said to be on the decline (like most bees) and I want to do something about it but, and I don't want to be too controversial in a forum primarily for honey beekeeping, it is said that mason bees are more significantly more effective in pollinating some flower types (predominately fruit trees it seems) than honey bees (there I've gone and done it!!!)

I have observed myself that both mine and my neighbours apples, pear, plum and cherry trees have all had a much higher crop each year since the bees have been busy and so there is a practical reason for not wanting the bee population I've now built up to die off.

Does anyone know the answer / have any suggestions re: the bleach solution for cleaning pupae and how to encourage them to vacate the boxes to be retired please?

Thanks all!

 

[JWF]

I'd let them establish the natural balance rather than actively trying to interfere too much. If you really want to help them, establish an area that suits their habitat requirements - whether that's a log pile, clay bank or whatever suits the species you'd like to see.

 

[theeggman]

To the forum Psy.

I don't have help to add BUT we have 100's of members on here who can.

In previous years we had bumbles using mouse nests over winter around our sheds and it was great to see the offspring next year. Sit tight, and ignore some of the banter, you WILL get the advice you need.

We're all friends of bees, regardless of type.

 

[Psy]

 

[thenovice]

Let nature do it's job. it is normal population dynamics. bees thrive, parasite/disease comes in and thrives as well. bees die, parasite dies. stronger adapted bee will survive and a balance between host and parasite will be struck at some point. Something some beekeepers are slowly starting to take on board (cfr hygienic bees and varroa control)